This weekend will be a battle of bats versus arms.
On Saturday, the Penn baseball team (14-10, 6-2 Ivy), boasting a collective .309 batting average, heads to New Haven, Conn., for a doubleheader. There, it will face a Yale squad (9-13, 1-3) limiting opponents to a .266 clip.
The Red and Blue will then play Brown (7-17-1, 2-2) twice on Sunday.
"Yale's an improving team," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "They've been at the bottom of the standings the last couple years, but they've always had a good pitching staff."
Seddon added that he expects to see the Elis' ace Josh Sowers. The sophomore pitcher is 4-1 this season with a 3.66 ERA. Last year, he pitched seven innings in Yale's 10-3 win over Penn.
The Red and Blue, however, have two factors in their favor -- their active bats and the Elis' porous defense.
Led by sophomore catcher Brian Winings at .389, eight Quakers have batting averages topping .300. Winnings also has a team-high six saves as a pitcher.
Particularly effective of late has been senior captain Steve Glass, whose 11-for-23 performance last week earned him Ivy League Player of the Week honors. After that tear he is now the fourth leading hitter on the Red and Blue with a batting average of .353.
"It's nice to see that people recognize me and to get individual honors, but what's really important is Ivy League games," said Glass, whose 28 runs scored are a team high. "Individual honors don't mean much in the grand scheme of the season.
"I want to just continue the way I've been playing and take this weekend like the last one."
The Quakers' already potent offense should get some help from Yale third baseman Mike Gulker and shortstop Mike Hirschfield, who have 19 and 9 nine errors apiece.
"Defense is not their strength," Seddon said. "Good pitching stops good hitting, but you can't win without good defense usually."
Brown provides a different kind of challenge for the Quakers. The Bears are seen as contenders in the Red Rolfe division of the Ancient Eight.
Meanwhile, the Red and Blue currently are in the driver's seat of the Lou Gehrig division.
Homefield advantage may make a difference in Providence, R.I.
"It's not an easy place to play, especially in bad weather," Seddon said. "It's not a good field when wet."
Critical to beating the Bears will be stopping them on the base paths. Brown has 30 steals on the season.
Recent history, however, doe s not favor the Quakers -- they have won just one of the last four meetings.
"We've had success against Yale, but we split against Brown last year," Glass said. "Brown was the preseason favorite. They tend to play us tough."
This weekend provides the Red and Blue an opportunity to get some breathing room atop the Ancient Eight standings. According to Glass, the goal every weekend is to go 3-1 -- doing so this weekend could widen the gap between Penn and Princeton.
The Tigers are second in the Lou Gehrig division at 3-1.
Seddon already has his sights set on next weekend when the two will clash.
This weekend is "important but not critical," according to Seddon. "We all know Princeton's the team we have to beat.
"These games are pivotal, but it comes down to head-to-head [records]."
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